With reverence and devotion, homage is offered to you, offspring of the mountain—homage to your very weapon. A fiery offering is made in your honor, for your supreme abode is known, hidden in secret, with your navel placed deep within the ocean. You, whom the gods themselves have fashioned as a universal arrow, strong for slaying, are entreated for grace in the assembly, O goddess, as we praise you and bow before you. May you, like one who plucks a garland from a tree, obtain the fortune of this woman. Like a mountain with deep roots, may you long abide among your ancestors. Here is your maiden bride, O King Yama; let her be led to the house of her mother, or her brother, or her father. Here, O King, is your family guardian; to you we entrust her, that she may dwell long among her ancestors and that peace may settle gently upon her head. By the power of Asita, Kaśyapa, and Gaya, just as wives are bound within the inner chamber, so is your fortune bound to you. May the rivers flow together, the winds unite, and the birds gather as one; may they accept this sacrifice offered from the sky, made with united oblation. Come here, O invoked ones, come with your united streams and increase this praise; let every animal and all wealth remain here. May those inexhaustible springs of the rivers, flowing together with all their united streams, bring wealth to us. May the streams of clarified butter, of milk, and of water, all flowing together, bring us abundance. Those who arose on the night of the new moon—the cattle-eaters, the thieves—are confronted by Agni, the fourth, the destroyer of the way, who speaks for us. For lead, Varuṇa is invoked; for lead, Agni is called upon; Indra has driven away the lead—may this be the dispeller of sorcery. This repels outgrowths and drives away the bringer of harm; by this, all beings born as fiends are withstood. If harm comes to our cow, our horse, or a man, then with lead we shall strike back, so our cattle are not lost. Women go forth, adorned in red garments, without husbands, like sisters-in-law; let them stand, bereft of vigor. Let the eldest stand firm, and the next, and the middle one; let the youngest also stand—let the whole line stand firm. Of a hundred vessels, of a thousand treasures, these middle ones have stood steadfast; together with the ends, they are arranged. Around you, the great bow strung with sand has been drawn; stand firm, remain steady, and be well. Misfortune, ill marks, and poverty are driven away; but whatever is auspicious, may those blessings come to our offspring, and may enmity be led away. Savitṛ has driven away strife from our feet and hands; Varuṇa, Mitra, and Aryaman have removed it; Anumati, favoring us, has driven it away—the gods have granted us prosperity. Whatever is fierce in your body, your hair, or any part, is destroyed by our words; may Savitṛ lay it low. The one with the lynx’s foot, the strong, the cow-thief, the destroyer—whatever is ill-marked or evil, all these are driven away from us. Let not the piercers strike us, nor the over-piercers; O Indra, cast far away the arrows that come from all sides. Let the arrows fall away from us in every direction, whether here or there; divine and human missiles alike, scatter my enemies. Whoever among us is our own, a stranger, a relative, or an outsider who attacks us—may Rudra scatter all those enemies with his arrows. Whoever is a rival or not, whoever hates and attacks us—may all the gods destroy him; let prayer be my inner armor. May Soma, the god, be gracious in this sacrifice; O Maruts, show us mercy. Let not the hostile one overpower us, nor let any evil or hateful act befall us. Whoever today raises a weapon against the sinful, O Mitra and Varuṇa, drive him far away from us. From here or from there, whatever danger there is, O Varuṇa, drive it away; spread your great shield, mighty one, and ward off harm. He who is thus commanded is mighty, unconquered, victorious over foes; his friend is never slain, nor is he ever defeated. May the giver of well-being, lord of the people, slayer of obstacles, mighty and powerful Indra, who drinks Soma and brings fearlessness, come to us within the city. O Indra, scatter the obstacles, subdue and cast down the hostile ones; send into darkness whoever attacks us. Scatter the demons, break the jaws of the adversary; O Indra, slayer of Vṛtra, disperse the wrath of the enemy who assaults us. Drive away the mind of the hostile, the intent of the jealous, remove the great covering, grant us the greater path, and ward off harm. Let the radiance of your heart follow the rising sun, and your golden hue; with the color of the red cow, we envelop you. We surround you with red hues for long life, so that you may be unaging and never become pale. Those divine red cows, each with their own form and age, we invoke to surround you. We place your golden color among the white ones, and also in the turmeric plants we place your golden color. You are born at night, O herb, lovely, dark, and black; this is the dye for the night, for what is leprous and gray. Destroy the leprosy and the grayness, O black one; let your own color enter you, and cast away the whiteness.